On The Run
by Asaru
Summary: A brief account of the escape of a rather famous Lycan from the clutches of those damned vampires


 A short ficlet, by me

_italic /text_= characters thoughts

On The Run

He landed on the cobbles of the courtyard quite heavily but he didn't let that slow him down.  He knew that there would be guards about, so he must be quick.  His bearing now gathered, he realised he must be towards the rear of the castle, and knew it would take a few minutes for the death dealers to group themselves together and come after him, so he decided to use this fact to his advantage.  He spotted a lone sentry up on the battlements, trying to see what all of the noise was, but before the sentry could spot him he was upon him, and the moment of violence had passed almost before it had begun. 

_"That's one of you.__  I wonder how many more of you will be stupid enough to cross my path tonight."_

 He leapt down from the battlements of the castle and into the moat, some thirty feet below.  This barely slowed him down as he had prepared himself for the impact, and always been a strong swimmer anyway, so within a matter of seconds he was out of the moat and onto solid ground.  The moment of rage was almost at an end, and was now being slowly replaced by a feeling of fear, a feeling of needing to be as far away from the castle as possible.  He started to run, using all four of his powerful limbs to their full potential.  He had only two things on his mind right now:  The first was to get to the safety of the country beyond the nearby forest; the second was the utter annihilation of Viktor and his entire misbegotten race.  He'd been at the mercy of the dreaded silver lash, the marks of which still burned him terribly, even though it was more than eleven hours since his first punishment was dealt.  However, no amount of physical pain could compare with the emotional anguish he was forced to go through as he watched his beloved burned to death by the suns harmful rays.  He tried to block all of this out of his mind as he knew it'd only slow him down, but he couldn't help thinking about it.  He'd been condemned to death by Viktor, the current ruling elder of the Vampires, for little more than falling in love with the elder's daughter.  Not only had this judgement been passed on his head, but also on the head of his pregnant wife, for such a union between the two species was strictly forbidden.  Yes, so they'd known about the strict laws and they ignored that, but no amount of rules or laws can deny two people who are in love as strongly as they were. 

_"Viktor!"_

The very thought of that aristocratic walking corpse was enough to refuel his anger again.  However, he knew he had to think about the situation.  He wanted more than anything else to turn around, head back into the castle, tear out Viktor's heart, and show the still beating organ to him as the life passed from his eyes. 

_"No, must keep running, must keep going to where I know I'll be safe for now." _

He could now see the forest on the horizon, less than five miles away at a guess.  It would be another eighteen miles or so as the crow flies until he was on the other side of the forest once he had reached the edge, but at least the trees and shadows would slow any would-be pursuers down enough for him to keep his lengthy advantage.  So, with his heart and his limbs pumping simultaneously, he continued on, never once looking back. 

Less than five minutes had passed when he caught a change in the air.  He briefly slowed down a little in order to try and pick up any sounds of pursuit.  At first, all could hear was his own heart, which sounded like the beating of a large drum inside his head.  Then, he heard them.

 _"Ahhh, so the death dealers have reacted quicker than I expected."_

The renown of the deadly Death Dealers was well known to all Lycans, and this notorious group of trained killers were to be much feared.  Had they been on foot and armed only with close quarter weapons, he was in no doubt that he could've easily torn them all limb from limb and escaped without so much as a scratch before reinforcements arrived.  However, they weren't that stupid.  No vampire, save maybe Viktor himself, could expect to face a fully changed Lycan whilst unarmed and expect to live to tell the tale.  He could now hear the hoof beats of the horses louder:  They were gaining on him quite rapidly.  The fear that that might catch him before he reached safety was now at the forefront of his mind, and it was this fear that that drove him on.  The fear slowly began to turn to anger again, an anger which was fuelled by his desire to rend and tear the flesh of all vampires, to make them wish that they'd never been born.  He looked up and saw the forest ahead of him. 

_"No.  I mustn't succumb to this rage, at least not yet.  There will be plenty of time for revenge later.  Not far to go now"_

 He knew that once he was amongst those trees the horses won't be able to travel so fast, and so he'd be able to lengthen the distance between him and them.  No sooner had he thought this when he noticed movement in the trees ahead of him. 

_"Surely they couldn't have gotten there before me."_

It was then that he remembered that not all of the Death Dealers lived at the castle, and that some of them stayed in outhouses along the borders of the land. 

_"Let them come for me.  They won't know what's hit them!" _

He growled and picked up his pace a little, knowing that he'd rather take the ones ahead of him by surprise than turn around and face the horse mounted foes that were now less than a mile behind him.   He carried on running.  For such a big bulky creature, he had a surprising amount of stealth on him when the need arose.  The death dealers ahead hadn't noticed him as of yet, even though he was less than two hundred yards away from them, so he veered towards his left with the intent of circling around them.  He could see they were armed with crossbows, the bolts of which no doubt tipped that that blasted silver/steel alloy they're so fond of using.  Oh well, he'd show them what it meant to have to fight for your life.   Now he was closer he could see that there was only five of them. 

_"Perfect!"_

With his teeth bared in what can only be described as a grin, he got closer to his prey.  They were now so close that he could smell their fear.

------------

The new recruits were looking worryingly at one another.  They'd been death dealers for less than four months now, and although they were in no doubt as to their own abilities, the sound of the alarm bell coming from the castle was still worrying.  They looked at each other nervously, unsure as to what to do.  Their sergeant had returned to the castle the previous night, and had left Cadet Lazarus in charge.  Things these days were more peaceful, so he didn't see the harm in leaving them to their own devices for a night or two.  And besides, the boy had shown promise.  The nervous atmosphere amongst the squad wasn't helped by the sound of horses in the distance.  They sounded like they were in pursuit of something, and that they were heading in this direction.  Lazarus had just loaded his crossbow when he heard the growl, but he turned around a little too late.

------------

The poor fool must've heard him, because before his stroke fell he'd started to turn his head in his direction.  However, before the vampire could even see his assailant, his head was rolling along the ground a few feet away.   A few brief seconds later and two more had fell, one of which was in pretty much the same state as the first kill, whilst the other was on the floor with her innards beside her, and a look of disbelief on her face.  The red mist was now upon the Lycan.  He was now Death incarnate, reaping the souls of these young looking vampires.  This left him with just two more.  As he tore the throat out of the fourth, the last one saw him and had managed to aim and fire his crossbow.  The bolt struck home, and the Lycan could feel the burning of the silver.  However, this only served to fuel his rage further and he was upon the hapless whelp before he could even unsheathe his sword.  Instead of killing the death dealer, he merely knocked the sword out of his hand, pinned him to a nearby tree with one oversized, talon-like paw, and growled menacingly, with his maw only an inch from his victims face.  He smiled inwardly at the look of terror in his victims eyes, removed the bolt from his own shoulder, and stabbed it so hard through the vampire's stomach that he was now pinned to the tree.  He would've liked to have killed the vampire, but he knew the horsemen were closing in fast, and so he decided to leave this as a message to Viktor.  He then turned and continued with his plan, and ventured further into the forest.  He only had to evade them for another hour or two, because after that they'd be too far from the castle to return before the sun comes up.  That was of course, if he _wanted_ to escape away from them.

------------

The horse mounted death dealers approached the scene of carnage on the edge of the forest with dismay and caution.  They knew that one of their brethren was still barely alive, but they daren't venture too close just in case the escapee was still in the vicinity waiting for them.  It did look very much like a trap, which is exactly what the Lycan had intended.  He knew that his pursuers wouldn't want to come too close to where he may be hidden, especially after seeing what he'd managed to do to a small unit of highly trained killers.  This is exactly what he needed to buy himself more time.  Whilst the death dealers were slowly edging towards the dead bodies of their kin, not knowing if instant death was hiding behind or up a nearby tree, he was making his way a little further into the forest and further away from his pursuers.  Not too far though. 

The sergeant of the squad of mounted death dealers signalled for one of his subordinates to head over to the scene.

"Corporal, can you see anything?"

"No sir.  No sign of the beast."

"Good, now go and help our friend down from that tree."

It was at that moment that they heard more hoof beats coming from behind them.  The sergeant didn't need to turn his head; he knew who would be there if he looked.

"I see you have failed to catch up with your quarry, sergeant."

Shit.  It was as he had feared.  Viktor and his retinue of bodyguards had left the confines of the castle to join in with the pursuit.  The sergeant shifted uneasily in his saddle and then turned to face the elder.  To say that Viktor looked displeased would've been an understatement.

"Bring the survivor to me."

You _had_ to obey that voice.  There was something about it, maybe some kind of subconscious fear that arose every time you heard it.  Whatever it was, you did everything that Viktor told you to, usually without even having to think about it.  Even without he voice though, that penetrating glare would be more than enough to freeze your blood.  The corporal did as he was told and brought the surviving member of the death dealer squad before his lord.  Viktor gazed upon the barely conscious death dealer almost lovingly, like a father figure.  And then, in the blink of an eye, Viktor's expression had changed to one of hate, and he had unsheathed his sword and beheaded him.

"You have now seen the price of failure.  A much worse fate will befall _all_ of you, unless you return that animal to me before sunrise.  I will not accept failure.  And to make sure you perform better than you have done already, I will send some of my personal guards to accompany you.  Do not fail me again."

Without another word Viktor turned around, accompanied by only a handful of guards, and headed back towards the castle.  The remaining death dealers all came to the same decision at the same time, and reallised that they'd rather face death at the hands of an enraged Lycan, than at the hands of Viktor.  At least with the Lycan their death would be quick.  They set off in pursuit, heading warily through the forest at little more than a trot.

------------

Unbeknownst to the death dealers, the Lycan wasn't too far away at all.  He'd been waiting patiently only a few dozen paces away from them, watching the proceedings with interest.  Not far from this land had been his home, where he had been raised before being enslaved by the vampires.  He was now close to the mountains, close to where he once called home, and it wouldn't be long now before he would be able to lay a trap for any pursuers that were still stupid enough to be following him.   He grinned in anticipation of the events that were to follow.

Even though it had been some years since he was last here, he recognised everything: the sights, the sounds, the smells, the streams that he came across, everything.  For the first time in his recent memory, he actually almost felt free, free to do whatever he wanted.  So he did _exactly_ what he wanted.  The death dealers didn't notice him hiding in the upper branches of the oak tree as they passed it by.  He waited until they were a few yards ahead before he slowly climbed his way down the tree and onto the forest floor. 

_"And now, the hunter becomes the hunted._

------------

It had been a little over an hour since the pursuit had begun, and the death dealers were beginning to give up hope of ever catching sight of the Lycan.  There had been literally no sign of him, since they'd come across the carnage he'd left at the outhouse.  However, this didn't stop them from feeling nervy.  There was no natural light in the forest, as the canopy was far too dense for even the moonlight to penetrate.  They had decided against using torches, as they knew that this would alert the Lycan to their presence.  Already tense at the thought of an enraged werewolf out there, possibly waiting in ambush, they moved on.  Of course, there were now twelve of them in total, but the blood from the remains of their comrades was already congealing when they'd been found, which meant the Lycan must have barely broken his stride to kill five heavily armed and well trained death dealers.  Without prior warning he could probably pick off at least half of the current hunting party before any of them had gathered their senses and prepared themselves to attack back.  That was a frightening thought indeed.

"We should've brought more men with us."

The sergeant wasn't talking to anybody in particular.  He didn't need to, as he was merely voicing the thoughts of every one of them.  Even Viktor's personal guards seemed uneasy.  They'd been present when the Lycan had broken out of his restraints, and they'd been witnesses the rage that even the almighty Viktor had seemed scared of.  If anything they were more frightened at the prospect of finding the Lycan than the others were. 

"Let's just keep going.  We're as good as dead in another hour anyway, as after that we'd never get back to the safety of the castle before the sun rises."

_"But then, even if we did get back to the castle without proof of the Lycans death"_the corporal thought to himself_, "we'd be as good as dead anyway.  Viktor's retribution will not be swift.  He'd probably turn us over to Soren and his cronies.  I've heard that they have torture techniques where they can keep you alive for a number of months before finally easing your pain."_

"That's enough Corporal!  We'll find the Lycan, and we'll kill him and take his head back to Viktor.  Now, be silent."

The Corporal fell silent at this command.  He could sense the slight tremor in the voice of his commanding officer.  He didn't know whether to be reassured at the knowledge that his CO was as scared as he was, or whether it should make him even more nervous.  He was just glad that the Sergeant hadn't been able to read his thoughts.

------------

_"They're terrified, and yet the only direction they aren't looking is the direction that I am watching from."_

The Lycan had kept his pace with the hunting party, but kept his distance from them in case they became alert to his presence.   Suddenly, they stopped.  The Lycan slipped behind one of the wider oak trees, and began to climb into it slowly to get a better view of proceedings.

_"They look lost, and frightened.  Perfect."_

------------

The party had decided to spread out a little more, as they were running out of time fast.  In this part of the forest though the trees grew closer together, close enough for the Lycan to easily climb from one to the next without making too much sound.  One of the death dealers was now under the tree in which he waited.  He decided to make his move.  In one movement he'd dropped out of the tree onto the death dealer, killed the vampire, and killed his horse.  It all happened so fast that neither vampire nor horse had time to scream out in terror and alert the others.  Quickly, the Lycan made his way back up the tree, and travelled through the treetops to a safer distance.  His timing was impeccable, as the moment he stopped moving a member of the hunting party discovered the remains of its comrade. 

The alarm now went up:  There was a Lycan in the vicinity.  Whether or not it was the one they were after was irrelevant, there was still one nearby.  That meant they should stick closer together, in larger groups.  The death dealers now grouped themselves into two groups of four, and a group of three.

------------

_"Looks like I'll have to concentrate fully on the vampire scum, and leave the horses alone."_

The Lycan shifted his position amongst the trees with ease, almost as if he was in his natural habitat.  He watched as the smaller of the three units came closer to where he was, whilst the other two ventured further off in opposite directions.  His breathing became heavier now, with the anticipation of yet more bloodletting. 

_"This is something new to you, isn't it?  You're not used to a Lycan being able to out think vampires in this was.  If we did you'd never have enslaved us in the first place."_

They were pretty much directly under him now.  These three were more alert than he previous victim though, as they all had their swords drawn, and their crossbows loaded.  He must be careful this time.  However, for all of their alertness, not one of them had bothered to look up. 

_"Big mistake."___

------------

The Lycan dropped on them like death from above.  He killed the first of them with a down-sweep of his massive claw whilst he was still falling, the next he'd dragged from their saddle to the ground and disembowelled with a single swipe.  The last one saw him coming, but couldn't do anything as the Lycan pounced upon him.  The last thing that the death dealer saw was the open maw of the oncoming Lycan, the smell of fresh blood exuded from its throat.

------------

He had now decided that enough was enough.  He was beginning to get tired, and he knew that he couldn't take another eight death dealers on in this state, so he fled this new scene of carnage.  He ran on, deeper into the forest, and decided that he wasn't going to stop.  He heard shouts behind him, and hoof beats in pursuit of him.  He now no longer cared about being quiet, or using stealth, he just wanted to keep on running as fast as his limbs could carry him.  Then he felt it:  A white hot stabbing sensation in his lower back.  He roared in frustration, but continued running.  He knew that he'd been spotted and shot, but it hadn't killed him, so he carried on running.  He daren't stop now, not even for a brief second, as he knew that stopping would be the death of him.

------------

The pursuing vampires, initially lost in the bloodlust of the chase, were now filled with a very real feeling of dread.  The temperature was rising rapidly, and that could mean only one thing:  It was almost dawn.  As one they turned around and headed back into the deepest recesses of the forest, where they would be protected from the sun until it was safe to come out again.   Although where they would go once the sun had set, they had no idea.  They certainly wouldn't be welcome back at the castle, this they knew.  Yet if they waited here too long the escapee might return.

"We will wait here until dark, and then continue the chase."

They all turned to see who had said this.  It was the corporal, his fear now overcome.  He had shot the beast and wounded it, and this sudden realisation that it could be hurt had been a great confidence booster for him.  He sat there atop his horse, a look of determination upon his face.  The sergeant looked at him with barely concealed distaste.

"And just who gave you permission to give the orders Corporal Kraven?"

"I didn't give an order.  However, _feel free_ to wait here until dark and then return to the castle empty handed.  I'd rather push my luck with the Lycan than suffer Viktor's wrath."

The statement "feel free" came out with the sneer which had become characteristic of the young corporal.  The sergeant wanted nothing more than to bark an answer right back at him, but a combination of his nerves from the chase and the steely look which the corporal was giving him was enough to keep him silent.

"Ok, we wait until nightfall.  Then we continue with the chase.  And Corporal Kraven: any more of your insubordination and I'll make sure you don't return from this hunt, whether we're successful or not.  Do I make myself understood?"

"Yes sergeant, I understand you perfectly."

At this the death dealers continued on to the heart of the forest, where they knew that shelter from the rapidly rising sun could be found, and none of them spoke another word for the duration of their journey.

------------

Without him realising it, all sounds of pursuit had stopped.  The Lycan wondered why this was, but it didn't slow him down.  A few short minutes later he could see the end of the forest, but something wasn't right.  Everything was too quiet, but it was the kind of quiet you get when somebody is trying their hardest not to make any noise.  Somebody knew he was there! 

He crept through the last few trees cautiously, knowing that an attack could be imminent at any second.  His adrenaline was making his heart beat so hard that he totally forgot about the flayed flesh on his back and the wound in his shoulder.  His senses were now sharpened to their peak.

_"There!   I don't know what you are, but I know where you are, and I'm not going to let you know that.  In fact, I'm going to let you make the first move, which will also be the last mistake that you'll ever make."_

He crept further forward now, his heart fit for exploding with the tension, and with the anticipation of what was to happen next.  He knew that, contrary to what his would-be attacker might think, he had the element of surprise on his side.  This wasn't a death dealer that was waiting for him, because a death dealer wouldn't have been so stupid to think that a Lycan wouldn't have picked up their scent by now.  In fact it wasn't even a vampire, as the scent was pretty much unrecognisable.  Whoever they were though, they were armed.  He knew this because he could hear the slow unsheathing of a sword.  He was so close now that he could even hear his would-be attackers' heart beating, in pretty much the same fashion as his own. 

_"Good, he's scared, that should put things in my favour."_

Something unexpected then happened.  The sun came up above the mountains, and the power of the shifted Lycan grew less and less, until he was once again in his human form.  He stumbled forward a little, the weariness finally catching up on him.  It was then that his would-be attacker chose to jump out from behind his tree, and stopped short when he reallised that he was about to attack a wounded and naked man.  The Lycan reallised why the smell was so unfamiliar: his assailant was human.  After living amongst only other Lycans and vampires, he'd forgotten what the smell of humans was like.  He'd also never encountered a human so big, with such dark skin.  He looked like he could punch holes through solid oak with his bare fists.

"Where did it go?  Did it attack you?" bellowed the dark skinned giant. 

 "I, I think the sun must've scared it away.  Who are you?  Are you new to these parts?"

"My name is Raziel, and I come from far away in the south.  Now, tell me, who you are?  Would you like some help?  You look wounded.  I'm surprised you're still standing to be honest, the beast looked deadly.  And it looks like somebody has taken a shot at you tonight too."

The Lycan reallised that the stranger was referring to the crossbow bolt still lodged in between his ribs, and that his back was still a mass of flayed flesh thanks to Soren and his silver whip.

 "Yes, your help would be gratefully received right now. " Replied the Lycan. "My name is Lucian."

His last thought, shortly before the darkness consumed him was:

_"One day Viktor, I shall have my revenge.  I will be back, and I will do everything that I can to ensure your death, and the end of your race.  You can count on it."_


End file.
